Evaluation

My research really helped me carry out my roles efficiently. Because I researched the role of a camera operator I already knew what angles were appropriate for our production that helped me carry out instructions accurately. I also researched my second role, which was a panelist. This meant I already knew what was expected of me, which gave me the advantage is excelling in my role.

I particularly liked that we got to work as one big group, as we all got to learn about each others strengths and weaknesses and assigned each other roles accordingly.

I feel we planned out the show very well as everybody knew their roles and responsibilities, I liked the fact that nobody was afraid to ask for help which shows our communication skills were strong.

Although we had some technical difficulties and everybody was not punctual we managed to successfully meet the deadline and filmed the show on time.

This production has made me curious about the other roles, and I would like the chance to expand my knowledge and try a different role in our next production.

If we could do the production all again I would have suggested more meetings to make sure everybody had did what they were assigned to, to avoid stress and things going wrong on the day of the live show.  I say this because we were let down by one member in the group who didn’t make the advert needed in the show, fortunately the day was saved because we used an advert made for another project. On a whole everybody contributed well and we managed to all stay cheerful throughout the production and not get too stressed.

Working at professional standards, I now appreciate every role behind the scenes just as much as those on screen.

My Diary

Pitch and initial ideas

Today we got into groups to create a pitch for our show. Considering the target audience and duration of our show, we presented are pitches group by group. This gave us all a chance to be creative and express our individual ideas. I was put in a group with Jessica and Michael. I liked the group I was in as we all got on very well, however I felt like some of my ideas were not appreciated as they were used but changed, which I felt was unnecessary. Being a team player I just suggested more ideas to make sure I was satisfied with my input into the group.

After every group presented their pitch we put the best ideas together and created a basic plan for our show, which we will all develop in our groups.

Using the Multi-camera technique

Today we practiced using the Multi-camera technique. I was a camera operator on the production set. I learnt how to set up the camera, how to lock the camera and how to put the camera away properly. I liked my role as I found that I was very quick at changing angles and shots when instructed to by Mike (The director). I feel I handled my role well as I did everything I was told to and enjoyed doing so.

Our first rehearsal

Today was the first rehearsal for our show. I feel the rehearsal was successful as everyone had taken to their roles well and seemed very focused.  This was the first time I got to change from one of my roles to the other; I coped with this well, as it was a smooth transition. However, we did have some technical difficulties when showing the VTS, but on the whole I feel we are nearly ready for the live show.

Dress rehearsal

Today we had to bring in our costumes, as it was the dress rehearsal. Everybody’s costume was appropriate to his or her role. Overall today went well as everybody was confident in their roles and knew their cues.  There was again some technical difficultly but it didn’t stop the show and was later fixed by Mike and Patrick.  We also sorted out the scripts for our ‘Gossip girl’ part of the show, which made me feel more confident during the rehearsal.

Live show

Today was the live show again everyone came dressed appropriately and focused. We couldn’t start filming straight away as some people in the production team came in very late. However when everybody did turn up we rehearsed a couple of times before we did the live show. The live show went very well as the transitions from each section in the show were very smooth. I feel that we got to add personality into our roles today as all the hard work was over. The show was a success and I can’t wait to see it. 

Health and Safety

In any production following health and safety procedures is very important.

During our production we made sure:

·   -Unused equipment was not left plugged in

- Equipment bags were out of the way

- No wires were left lying around on the floor

-No food or drink were around electrical equipment

- Cameras were locked before left alone

-No one was running around in the studio

What should I do to minimise risks?

1.  Razor blades etc-Take care when you use them.  Pick them up and put them down carefully.  Put them down only in a safe place.  Dispose of them only in properly marked  containers - never put them in a waste bin.  Always use a sharp blade - blunt ones are more likely to slip when cutting.

2.  Tape recorders etc-Tuck ties, necklaces etc inside your clothing so that they don’t get caught.

3.  Electric shock-Check condition of plugs, cables etc.  You should NEVER be able to see the inner insulation.  If an item of mains equipment has a damaged case - don’t use it.  Take particular care with musicians’ equipment - many pop musicians have been electrocuted.  If in doubt - don’t use.  Get advice from a competent person, e.g. a technician.

Remember - electricity and water don’t mix, so you need to take special care if there’s water around, or if you’re outdoors and rain is possible.If appropriate, make sure you know the location of the main circuit-breaker (usually a red button on the wall which cuts all mains power).

4.  Location recording-Make a checklist of potential hazards - for example, if you’re recording in a factory, you would include things like fork-lift trucks, machinery, cables on the floor etc.  Against each entry you should say what you intend to do to minimise risks. The main location risks are to do with fire (both prevention and escape from); electric shock; tripping up; and falling objects.

5.  Noise-Many locations are also subject to loud noise - factories as well as rock concerts.  You should take steps to minimise dangers, by using ear defenders and by keeping as far away as possible from the source of sound.  This could mean not standing too close to loudspeakers, for example.  Also, make sure to plug headphones in before you put them on.  The other way round can lead to unexpected and damaging loudness!

6.  Fire -Look out for combustible materials, sources of sparks etc.  Don’t smoke.  Make sure you know the location of fire exits and fire extinguishers, and the procedure for raising the alarm.

Research By Steve Pike.

We also made sure everyone in the production team was aware of the emergency power cut off switch, which will turn off everything in the studio.

Costumes

Because I am part of a panel that talks about top Fashion trends it is important that I too look trendy. On all talk shows women come dressed to impress wearing nice dresses and heels with perfect hair and make-up:

Host of Loose Women

Wendy Williams Show

Amber Rose on a talk show

Considering my target audience, I will be going for a young, edgy look wearing a leather dress and four inch heels. I will not be wearing high heels, as I am also a camera operator so I would like the transition between the two roles to be as simple as possible.

My Roles; Panelist

My next role is a panelist on the 'Gossip Girl' part of the show. 

As a panelist in the entertainment industry these skills are essential:

- Well spoken

- Confident

- Fluent and articulate

- Good communication/interpersonal skills

- Bubbly and entertaining

- Good eye contact

I also need to make sure I have strong points and evidence/ proof of assumptions related to the topic I am talking about. I understand I need to be able to answer questions confidently, which is why research into the topic I will be talking about is essential.

Gossip Girl

This idea was inspired by 'Loose Women".

Loose Women is a famous British lunchtime television programme, the first episode was broadcasted in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss cover issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip. 

The panel comprises four women from various professions in the entertainment and journalism industries, including actresses, singers, author, presenters, journalists and reporters.

I will be on the panel alongside Jessica North, Hannah King and Samantha Masters. In able to make our part of the show realistic and entertaining we gave each other different topics to talk about and assigned each other different roles on the panel:

Jessica North: Jessica North’s profession will be a presenter. Being the main anchor, she will be linking the topics together and addressing the television audience. Jessica will also talk about celebrity gossip.

Monique Johnson: My profession will be an actress; I will be talking about the latest celebrity gossip.

Hannah King: Hannah King’s profession will be a Fashion Stylist. She will host a game called 'Fab or Drab' where she will discuss/compare and insult/compliment several celebrities outfits that attended the VMAs 2011. (A well-known MTV event)

Samantha Masters: Samantha’s profession will be a Journalist; she will actually appear on the show as a guest, talking about public affairs.

I will be talking about the latest news that has been all over social networks and in the news:

Beyonces fake baby bump?!

Ever since Beyonce appeared for an interview on Australia’s "Sunday Night" television program there have been many rumors that the award-winning performer is faking her pregnancy!” Her baby bump appeared to fold in on itself beneath her pink dress as she sat.” -www.ibtimes.com

 The rumor caused controversy on many social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. The topic became so popular it started trending on twitter, here are some of the things I read on twitter: '@SimpleAsh'#Beyonce would never fake her pregnancy that's just ridiculous and obviously edited’ and '@DPMOJen 'Soz the evidence is there babe #Beyonce is faking her pregnancy'

The topic began to cause arguments on these social networks between fans and critics. Beyonce herself does not have twitter, so a fan created one for her and millions of people followed the twitter page to show their loyalty and to support Beyonce.

It wasn’t long before YouTube videos were released of apparent evidence that Beyonce is faking her pregnancy. It is the hot gossip on talk shows, heres what Wendy Williams had to say about the topic: 

“At one point - around the 57 second mark - the cameras appear to show Beyoncé’s bump being squashed and moving as she sits down”- www.dailymail.co.uk

Beyoncé’s rep is denying the rumors that she has on a fake baby bump or pillow on. He said that the rumors are, “stupid, ridiculous and false.” Personally I do not believe Beyonce is pregnant, but as a panellist I can not be biased so i will influence my opinion discreetly by saying words like 'supposedly' but I will give others panelist the chance to express their opinion.

My script:

#Monique: Beyonce Knowles was live on the breakfast show to discuss her pregnancy. And what supposedly had happened was that she sat down and her stomach area literally deflated. (Hand actions) Now this caused a lot of controversy on famous social networks such as Twitter and Face book and what everybody wants is an explanation. Its 50/50 really, you've got her loyal fans tweeting things like

'Beyonce would never fake her pregnancy that's just ridiculous and obviously edited.’ And then you've for critics saying things like: 

'Soz, the evidence is there babe Beyonce is faking her pregnancy.’

Beyonce said and I quote: 

'People just don't want me to be happy. Every time a meaningful event happens in my life people try to spoil it for me' 

I mean I can't see why Beyonce would fake her pregnancy however there must be an explanation for the video clip that everyone's seen! 

Jess what do you think about it?

My roles; Camera Operator

I have been assigned two roles for our show, I am part of the crew as I will be on camera three, I am also part of the cast as I will be the third panelist on the Gossip Girl talk. In order to carry out my roles successfully i did some research into them:
Camera Operator:

In film making a camera operator is a professional operator of a film or video camera, the leading camera operator is usually referred to as a cinematographer, while in a video production the camera operator is known as a television camera operator/video camera operator, or videographer, depending on the technology involved. 
A camera operator is responsible for physically operating the camera whilst receiving instructions from the director over a headset, the camera operator will maintain composition and camera angles through out the production.
My responsibilities:
- Ensure that cameras and associated equipment are rigged for the required setup

- Making sure the camera is always in focused

- Making sure the action is filmed correctly in the frame

- React instinctively when given instructions to carry out

- Help establish the theme and appearance of the show

Essential skills of Camera Operator:

- Excellent technical skills

- Be creative

- Be able to Multi task

- Good listening skills

- Ability to carry out instructions with great accuracy and attention to detail

- Excellent communication skills

- Knowledge of Health and Safety legislation and procedures

Camera angles and movements combine to create a sequence of images, each different shot has a different purpose and effect.

I found some useful shots and angles on www.mediaknowall.com that I learnt a lot from, i have included the relevant information below: 

Camera shots:

1 . Extreme long shot

                    This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally used as a scene-setting, establishing shot. It normally shows an EXTERIOR, eg the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action eg in a war film or disaster movie. There will be very little detail visible in the shot, it's meant to give a general impression rather than specific information

2. Long shot

This is the most difficult to categorise precisely, but is generally one which shows the image as approximately "life" size ie corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the screen in a cinema (the figure of a man would appear as six feet tall). This category includes the FULL SHOT showing the entire human body, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom. 

3. Medium Shot

Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action. Background detail is minimal, probably because location has been established earlier in the scene - the audience already know where they are and now want to focus on dialogue and character interation.

4. Close-Up

This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail of mise en scène. Everything else is just a blur in the background. This shot magnifies the object 

and shows the importance of things, be it words written on paper, or the expression on someone's face. The close-up takes us into the mind of a character. In reality, we only let people that we really trust get THAT close to our face - mothers, children and lovers, usually - so a close up of a face is a very intimate shot. A film-maker may use this to make us feel extra comfortable or extremely uncomfortable about a character, and usually uses a zoom lens in order to get the required framing.

5. Extreme Close-Up

As its name suggests, an extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in reality. An extreme close-up of a face, for instance, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever. This is a very artificial shot, and can be used for dramatic effect. The tight focus required means that extra care must be taken when setting up and lighting the shot - the slightest camera shake or error in focal length is very noticeable.

During our production i would only use the long shot, medium shot and the close-up shot, reason being that it could cause my camera to lose focus and could become complexed trying to achieve the rest of the shots accurately, whilst following instructions quickly.

Camera angles:

1. The Bird's-Eye view

This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognisable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things. Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this style of shot.

2. High Angle

Not so extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary). The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.

3. Eye Level

A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.

4. Low Angle

These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene. The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.

5. Oblique/Canted Angle

Sometimes the camera is tilted (ie is not placed horizontal to floor level), to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (very popular in horror movies). This technique is used to suggest POINT-OF-View shots (ie when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of one particular character,seeing what they see — a hand held camera is often used for this.

Eye Level and Low Angle are the only angles necessary for this production. Not so much because of the affect the angles have the audience/viewers but simply because we only need neutral shots to capture all the action, as it is a magazine show we do not need to increase the heights/sizes of the cast as it needs to be as realistic as possible.

Organising our show

Proposal

My group and I have decided to make a magazine show called ‘The Johnny Stick Show’ including: special guest, celebrity interviews, sports talk and girl gossip. Our target audience is 16-21 year olds and our show will be fithteen minutes long, broadcasted every Wednesday on T4.

We want our show to be broadcasted on T4 as T4s audience also targets young people.  Some of the ideas for our show have been inspired by existing shows such as; The One Show, Question time, Loose Women and Mock The Week.

We all split into groups to create a pitch for our show, below is the pitch my group created:

 After everybody presented their pitches we then developed all of the ideas:

Introduction to Show

Presenters:     Patrick Rawlins & Jessicah North

Cast:               N/A

Synopsis:        Hosted by Patrick Rawlins and Jessicah North, they will be introducing themselves and what is coming up in the show. From here they will then introduce the first part of the show.

Time:              1 – 2 Minutes

Pranks (Video Tape)

Presenters:     Emelia Woodward

Cast:               Tom Dadswell, Paige Senior

Synopsis:        Hosted by Emelia Woodward, she will be bringing on the pranksters to the show to ask them what they have been up to. The video tape will then be shown; she will then further interview the prankster. This process will be repeated with another prankster. Next Emelia Woodward will ask the audience to vote for the best prank.

Time:              5 – 8 Minutes

Celebrity Interviews

Presenters:     Claire Hough

Cast:               Celebrity

Synopsis:        Hosted Claire Hough, she will be interviewing a celebrity. Within this interview we hope to have a short VT played of the celebrity.

Time:              4 – 6 Minutes

Comedy Panel / Crazy game / Sports News

Presenters:     Patrick Rawlins

Cast:               Two celebrities

Synopsis:        Hosted by Patrick Rawlins we will be playing a few rounds of a chosen game influenced by our research. Hopefully have a celebrity on each panel. We will be playing 2 – 4 rounds. This will also move onto sports news with a comedy twist.

Time:              5 – 10 Minutes

Birthday Cards

Presenters:     Patrick Rawlins

Cast:               Model

Synopsis:        Hosted by Patrick Rawlins I will be handing over to a model that will be in some sexy clothes, she will then hold up a birthday card, tell us how old he is and wish him a personal happy birthday.

Time:              1 – 2 Minutes

Gossip Talk

Presenters:     Jessicah North

Cast:               Hannah King, Monique Johnson

Synopsis:        Hosted by Jessicah North, she will be joined by Hannah King and Monique Johnson, to gossip about current affairs and juicy gossip.

Time:              5 – 8 Minutes

Guest Performance

Presenters:     Jessicah North

Cast:               N/A

Synopsis:        Hosted by Jessicah North, she will be introducing the guest / celebrity performance to play out the show.

Time:              3 – 4 Minutes

Production Roles

Director: Mike S

Producer: Patrick D

Floor Manager:  Mit P

Assistant Floor Manager: Emelia W

Vision Mixer: Jacob C

Camera 1: Josh G

Camera 2: Tom D and Billy R

Camera 3: Monique J and Patrick D

Sound Mixer: Jessica N and Kevin S

Lighting 1: Sam M and Paige S

Teleprompter: Hannah K

Cast

Presenters:                             Jessicah North & Patrick Rawlins

Hosts of pranks:                    Emilia Woodward

Pranks guests:                                   Claire hough &Thomas Dadswell

Sports & game panelists:      Kevin Seto, Billy Rungay, Jordan Rawlins, Jorge Santana

Gossip show guests:              Hannah King, Monique Johnson & Samantha Masters

Interview:                               Mike Hough

Running order (Created by Patrick Rawlins)

Video	Cue	Topic	Cast	Time	Total Time
VT - Title Sequence	N/A	N/A	N/A	00:20	00:20
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the show	Patrick / Jessicah	00:05	00:25
VT – Prank Teaser 1	“We will have a bit of this”	N/A	N/A	00:05	00:30
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the show	Patrick / Jessicah	00:05	00:35
VT – Prank Teaser 1	“And a bit of this”	N/A	N/A	00:05	00:40
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the show	Patrick / Jessicah	00:05	00:45
VT – Prank Introduction	“Over to you”	Handing the show over to Emilia	Patrick / Jessicah	00:05	00:50
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the prank section & pranksters what did they get up to?	Emilia / Tom / Claire	01:00	01:50
VT – Pranks Video	“Let’s see what you got up to then!”	Pranks	N/A	02:00	03:50
Camera	End of VT	Discussing the pranks	Emilia / Tom / Claire	01:00	04:50
VT – Shaving Advert	“Let’s give it up for Thomas Dadswell and Claire Hough”	N/A	N/A	00:30	05:20
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the Celebrity Interviews	Patrick / Jessicah	00:15	05:35
VT – Celebrity Interview Introduction	“Let’s take a look then!”	N/A	N/A	00:05	05:40
VT – Claire’s Interview	End of VT	N/A	N/A	02:00	07:40
VT – Jessicah’s Interview	End of VT	N/A	N/A	02:00	09:40
VT – Comedy Panel Intro	End of VT	N/A	N/A	00:05	09:45
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the panel and game	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	00:30	10:15
Camera	“So let’s get started with our first game”	Comedy Game 1	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	02:00	12:15
Camera	“So let’s get started with our second game”	Comedy Game 2	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	02:00	14:15

Video	Cue	Topic	Cast	Time	Total Time
VT – Sports Introduction	“Now Let’s take a look into the world of sport”	N/A	N/A	00:05	14:20
Camera	End of VT	Introducing sport news and debate	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	00:20	14:40
Camera	“So what has been happening this week?”	Sports Topic 1	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	02:00	16:40
Camera	“So what else has been happening this week?”	Sports Topic 2	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	02:00	18:40
Camera	“So at the end of the round and the end of the game the winner is……”	Announcing the Winner	Patrick / Billy / Kevin / George / Jordan	00:20	19:00
VT – Advert 2	“Special thanks to our panellist”	N/A	N/A	00:30	19:30
VT – Gossip Introduction	End of VT	N/A	Jessicah / Hannah / Monique	00:05	19:35
Camera	End of VT	Introducing the section and panel	Jessicah / Hannah / Monique	00:30	20:05
Camera	“So what has been happening this week?”	Gossip Topic 1	Jessicah / Hannah / Monique	02:00	22:05
Camera	“So what else has been happening this week?”	Gossip Topic 2	Jessicah / Hannah / Monique	02:00	24:05
Camera	“Special thanks to our panellist”	Thanking the Panel / Saying goodbye	Jessicah / Hannah / Monique	00:20	24:25
VT – Celebrity Performance	“Now to play us out, Mr Hough!”	N/A	N/A	02:00	26:25
VT – Credits	End of VT	N/A	N/A	00:30	27:55